Our 10 Favorite Sci-Fi Space Stations of All Time

Amazing Sci-Fi Space Stations

From Babylon 5 to the Death Star, space stations have been integral to some of the best science fiction movies of all time. Here are our picks for some of the best fictional space stations ever put on screen.<br><br>
Did your favorite space station make the list?<br><br>
FIRST STOP: Bond, James Bond ... in Space

Drax's Space Station ("Moonraker")

This station — featured in the Roger Moore-era James Bond movie "Moonraker" — is owned by the movie's Nazi villain Hugo Drax. The privately owned station is the ultimate show of wealth that Drax wants to use to keep himself safe from the chemical warfare he's about to wage on the surface of Earth. Bond hitches a ride on a space shuttle and attempts to stop the ultra-rich villain before it's too late. [<a href="http://www.space.com/18386-james-bond-space-photos.html">Photos: James Bond's Space Adventures on Film</a>]
<p>NEXT: In the not-too-distant future

Satellite of Love ("Mystery Science Theater 3000")

The Satellite of Love — a bone-shaped space station featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000 — plays host to a "captive" audience above the Earth. A group of prisoners held on the SOL are forced to watch terrible movies from Earth during their stay onboard the station. <br><br>
NEXT: The last, best hope for peace ...

Babylon 5

This station, home to 250,000 people, orbits Epsilon III in a neutral part of space. It was constructed to give humans and aliens the chance to work together peacefully in the "Babylon 5" TV show. <br><br>
NEXT: Where kids become warriors

Battle School ("Ender's Game")

The new film "Ender's Game" won't be released until Nov. 1, but the movie's trailers tease Battle School as an amazing looking station ready for the big screen in this adaptation of a beloved book. [<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/17741-kids-go-to-war-in-ender-s-game-trailer.html">See the "Ender's Game" Trailer (Video)</a>]<br><br>
NEXT: We're going to Space Camp ...

Daedalus ("Space Camp")

The kids accidentally launched into space during the 1986 movie "SpaceCamp" have to pilot their ship to dock with the space station Daedalus in order to retrieve more oxygen. The station was incomplete, yet it still came equipped with oxygen tanks and other spare parts. <br><br>
NEXT: So Say We All ...

Armistice Station ("Battlestar Galactica")

The Armistice Station is a remote space station set up as a place for diplomatic talks between the people of the Twelve Colonies and the Cylons — a sentient race of robots. At the beginning of the "<a href="http://www.space.com/6448-real-life-astronaut-dishes-battlestar-galactica.html">Battlestar Galactica</a>" miniseries, the Cylons visit the station for the first time in 40 years. They kill the colonial officer on duty and destroy the station, effectively kicking off the conflict of the entire show. <br><br>
NEXT: To Boldly Go ... Into a Wormhole

Deep Space Nine ("Star Trek")

This station is an outpost located just outside a stable wormhole that allowed 24th century space travelers to explore deep regions of the universe. Most of the people living on the space station are civilians but the "Star Trek" series follows Captain Benjamin Sisko's life and work aboard DS9. [<a href="http://www.space.com/12858-star-trek-timeline-science-fiction-infographic.html">Evolution of "Star Trek" (Infographic)</a>]<br><br>
NEXT: Elysium, It's Better Up There

Elysium

In the segregated Earth presented in the movie "Elysium," the rich and powerful live high above the poor in a space station called Elysium. The giant orbiting outpost protects those fortunate enough to live on it from the disease and destruction on Earth. [<a href="http://www.space.com/22242-elysium-space-film-photos-slideshow.html">See photos from the film "Elysium"</a>]<br><br>
NEXT: That's No Moon ...

The Death Star ("Star Wars")

The Empire's world destroying Death Star from the "Star Wars" film franchise might qualify as the most recognizable space station in history. The moon-sized weapon came equipped with a superlaser capable of destroying whole planets. Groups of fans have even petitioned the U.S. government to build it. [<a href="http://www.space.com/10887-saturn-moon-mimas-photos-death-star.html">Saturn's Moon Mimas Looks Like the Death Star (Photos)</a>] <br><br>
NEXT: An Iconic Space Odyssey

Space Station V ("2001")

Space Station V from the landmark sci-fi film "2001: A Space Odyssey" directed by Stanley Kubrick featured a rotating wheel, a Hilton hotel and artificial gravity created through rotation. It functioned as a place for ships to transfer between Earth and other destinations in deep space. [<a href="http://www.space.com/20482-2001-space-odyssey-infographic.html">Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" Explained (Infographic)</a>]<br><br>
<b>More space station fun:<b>
<p>
<a href="Space Colony Concepts: NASA's 1970s Vision for Giant Space Stations (Gallery)">Space Colony Concepts: NASA's 1970s Vision for Giant Space Stations (Gallery)</a><br>
<a href="http://www.space.com/22229-space-station-colony-futuristic-technology.html">Incredible Technology: How to Build a Space Colony</a><br>
<a href="http://www.space.com/22228-space-station-colony-concepts-explained-infographic.html">A Village in Orbit: Inside NASA's Space Colony Concepts (Infographic)</a><br>
<a href="http://www.space.com/16091-nasa-space-station-concepts-art-images.html">Far Out Space Station Concepts by NASA (Gallery)</a>

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AUTHOR BIO

Miriam Kramer

Miriam Kramer joined Space.com as a staff writer in December 2012. Since then, she has floated in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight, felt the pull of 4-Gs in a trainer aircraft and watched rockets soar into space from Florida and Virginia. She also serves as Space.com's lead space entertainment reporter, and enjoys all aspects of space news, astronomy and commercial spaceflight.
Miriam has also presented space stories during live interviews with Fox News and other TV and radio outlets. She originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee where she and her family would take trips to dark spots on the outskirts of town to watch meteor showers every year. She loves to travel and one day hopes to see the northern lights in person. You can follow Miriam on Twitter and Google+.